Monday, June 18, 2007

And the journey begins!

After four days of biking, I've decided to start a blog. Internet access is spotty at the moment in Northern Florida, but I'll try to update as often as possible.

Bike and Build began with an exciting start! I left Esperanza at 1:20 on the last day of school (Wednesday, June 13th), after saying goodbye to the kids and my co-workers and turning in my computer. I drove straight to my parent's house while attempting to eat my yogurt and Tastee O's in the car. I packed up some of the clothes that my mom had washed for me and within an hour or so was on my way to the airport, in one day finishing at Esperanza and beginning my summer with Bike and Build. I checked my bag and had a bit of time to spend with my mom, so we got to talk in the airport for an hour, then I went to the gate to wait for my 7:20 flight. The flight was delayed until 9:55, and my next flight was cancelled. There weren't any flights out of CT in the morning, so I ended up flying to DC. One of my wonderful friends from college, Healy, was gracious enough to pick me up at the airport and take me to the house where she was housesitting to sleep for a few hours, then drive me back to the airport to catch an 8:30 flight to Jacksonville. We had a delightful visit and the plane craziness was actually quite enjoyable. To top it off, when I arrived in Jacksonville I called Josh, my trip leader, and he was waiting at the airport for me!!! He said he would likely be too busy to come to the airport during since they were working on a build day with the Jacksonville Habitat, so it was a wonderful surprise.

On Thursday after I picked up my luggage (which arrived safely!) I ran errands with Josh--picked up the mail from the mail drop, drove by our route for the next day--then went to build with Jacksonville Beaches Habitat. They were really well organized and had plenty of work for us to do. Josh and I dug a hole to put a large post in then a bunch of us built door frames. I was grateful for the experience I gained at the Lawrence Habitat site because I actually knew what I was doing and could help other people.

Arriving late and missing orientation wasn't a big deal. Lauren, one of our group leaders, filled me in on most of what I had missed at the church where we were staying in Jacksonville. We packed up our bags, ate pasta prepared by our dinner crew for the week, and I worked on learning all of the riders names before inflating my Therma-rest mattress and going to bed.

Friday, June 15th: First riding day!
We officially began riding today! After cleaning the church, inflating our tires, and eating breakfast we were off for our first day of biking! We first biked a few miles to the Atlantic Ocean where we dipped our back wheel in the water (a Bike and Build tradition; we will dip our front wheel in the Pacific). The crew from the Beaches Habitat came to take pictures for us. We biked through Jacksonville to a ferry across the St. John's River. As we were getting off of the ferry, one of the ferry workers asked us where we were going and when we told him San Francisco he laughed at us and told us we wouldn't make it. At that very moment, one of our riders tipped over (those clip in pedals get tricky). A generally hilarious interaction overall. We biked to the head of a bike path where we stopped for peanut butter and jelly (which now makes up the majority of our diets; good thing we don't have any peanut allergies). The ride on the path was absolutely beautiful. It was nice to have some calm riding after the hustle and bustle of the city. I was biking with Christine, having a conversation about religion, when we heard multiple gunshots. There was a sign for a gun shot which someone had painted over "Protecting our freedom."

The rest of the ride was a bit hot, but delightful. It is so nice to not have anything to do but ride. For once I don't feel like there is anything hanging over my head--no lessons to plan, no papers to write, not even a room to clean. We just wake up and bike and bike. I get to do what I love to to all day, and tomorrow I get to do it again!

Saturday, June 16th
Glen Falls to Live Oak
Great day! We biked 60 miles along Rt 90. Our van driver picked an awesome town fair to stop at for lunch. I got my first flat! I felt quite self sufficient changing it on my own. I actually love working on my bike, even when it is fixing a flat tire. On the way to the church where we were staying I bought some fresh produce. It felt wonderful to have fresh food in my body. I don't feel as good when I rely so heavily on bagels and peanut butter. I'm really going to start working on getting more food donated so we can have greater variety (and hopefully healthier options!). My group is on laundry duty this week, so we went to the Laundromat. While we were waiting for the clothes to dry, I checked my voicemail. I had received a message from the Congressional Hunger Fellowship! I am going to be placed in Oakland, CA next year! We slept in a wonderful church and enjoyed a pasta dinner.

Sunday, June 17th
Live Oak to Monticello, FL
Another great day of biking! I had a flat tire when I woke up in the morning, so Caitlin lent me her tire for the day. Delialah was supposed to sweep with Sean, but she was sick so I filled in. (Sweep is the person in the back who makes sure that everyone is ok and no one is left behind or lost). It was a nice change to get to bike with one person for the whole day. Sometimes it is hard to get into a good conversation, but we were biking slowly so had some nice discussions. Andrea and I are sweeping next week and are making plans for how our sweep can be unique...

We slept in the school gym, which was definitely a school gym. It was complete with the locker room with the showers without curtains. Awesomeness.